http://www.newsregister.com/news/story.cfm?story_no=222056Couple missing in Arizona
Published: May 22, 2007
By PAUL DAQUILANTE
Of the News-Register
A couple with McMinnville ties, described by relatives as year-round snowbirds who used her son's McMinnville address, were reported missing Thursday after a shooting suspect fled in their motorhome.
Police said a man who had been traveling with them shot and wounded a police officer in Quartzsite, Ariz., just east of Blythe near the Arizona-California border, then fled in the vehicle. It was subsequently discovered in a campground parking lot about two miles from the shooting scene.
The missing couple have been identified as Kenneth William Miller and Betty Lou Japel. The shooting suspect has been identified as Gregory Allen Cole, who goes by "Groundhog."
"We're hoping for the best, but this doesn't look good," said Pennie Japel of McMinnville, who is married to Betty Lou Japel's son, Joseph. "It's really scary," she said.
She said the couple had known Cole for years and had traveled with him in the past.
The drama began unfolding when Quartzsite police officer James Kemp pulled the 1976 Ford motor home over about 5 a.m., according to Quartzsite Police Chief Jeff Gilbert, who described it as a routine traffic stop.
As Kemp was exiting his vehicle, several shots rang out from the motor home. The fire continued as he retreated, striking him repeatedly.
Gilbert said Kemp, badly wounded, took cover behind a parked motor home and small building. He said the motor home then sped off.
More than 25 rounds were fired at the officer, who never returned fire, Gilbert said. He said Kemp was hit seven times, but was wearing a protective vest that saved his life.
Kemp was transported by air ambulance to St. Joseph's Hospital in Phoenix. Officials said he is expected to make a full recovery eventually.
Multiple law enforcement agencies responded to the scene, Gilbert said. "I'm extremely thankful and proud the way the law enforcement community pulled its resources together in an effort to apprehend the person or persons responsible for shooting our officer," he said.
Investigators said the license plate displayed on the motor home at the time of the shooting belonged to a 1986 Dodge pickup. They said both vehicles were registered to the missing couple.
The pickup is missing, along with the license plate belonging to the motor home.
Capt. Dennis Marks said the McMinnville Police Department received a telephone call Thursday from the Arizona Department of Public Safety requesting information regarding Miller and Japel. Sgt. Rhonda Sandoval and Cpl. Josi Roberts have been working the case on this end, he said.
"We tried contacting relatives to find out where they had been lately," Marks said. "We came up with names of potential relatives, and found addresses in McMinnville, Lincoln City and other places. It seems they have been nomadic for a while."
That's a fair description, according to Pennie Japel, who labeled weekend media reports that the couple is from McMinnville as erroneous.
"Ken and Betty liked to do for themselves," she said. "They enjoyed living by themselves.
"They spent their winters in Arizona and their summers in Redmond. They're not from McMinnville."
Pennie and her husband live on Northeast Macy Street. She said his mom has been using that address for her mail for years.
"Once a year, when they're in Redmond, they give us a call," Japel said. "My husband will take a few days off from work, go over there, catch up with mom and Ken and deliver their mail."
It's been more than a year, however, since she and her husband last talked with the couple, she said.
Japel said her mother-in-law spent part of her childhood in Sheridan. But she said Miller has never lived in the Yamhill Valley, to her knowledge.
She said her mother-in-law met Miller when he owned a bar in Lincoln City. She said he described himself as a retired police officer and ex-Marine.
Japel said they didn't feel comfortable on the west side of the Cascades, saying it was too densely populated. When they visited Oregon, they stayed on the east side of the state, she said.
Quartzsite is 125 miles west of Phoenix at the junction of Interstate 10 and U.S. 95, near the Colorado River. The California community of Blythe lies 27 miles west on Interstate 10.
Tourism is the major contributor to Quartzsite's economy. The retail trade and service sectors benefit from visitors, who flood into more than 70 local mobile home and trailer parks between October and March.
Beginning in October, nine major gem and mineral shows and 15 swap meets prove popular tourist attractions. The Bureau of Land Management and law enforcement agencies estimates more than 1.5 million people attend these events.
Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of the couple and Cole should call McMinnville police, 503-434-7307; Quartzsite police, 928-927-4644, or the Arizona Department of Public Safety, 602-223-2212.